Ceiling collapsed on young family’s bedroom after repeated leaks

A family had to cope with four leaks in four months. Photo / 123rf

A family with a baby had to cope with four leaks in their rented home in four months, including one where a part of their ceiling collapsed on to their bed and belongings.

It was upsetting for Sayma Siddique, who told the Tenancy Tribunal her baby could have been hurt by falling debris if it had been asleep in the room at the time.

Her family started renting a 1950s brick-and-tile five-bedroom home in Auckland in November 2021 together with another couple, according to a tribunal decision dated April 18, 2023.

About six months into the tenancy, the first leak sprung in the hallway. The property manager, Barfoot and Thompson Mission Bay, arranged for it to be repaired on the same day.

Within two weeks, there was a second leak in the sunroom, again repaired on the same day.

The following month, there was a leak in the lounge at night. The property manager called three roofing companies but all were unable to attend due to extreme weather and multiple call-outs.

A builder came at 5.30pm the following day and repaired a gap in the cracked roofing tile with roof and gutter silicone, then drilled a hole in the ceiling plasterboard to check if there was build-up for water in the ceiling space.

He told the property manager he would return once the weather improved to replace the cracked tile and check the ceiling space.

But the following day, a roughly 1- to 1.5m section of the ceiling in the lounge collapsed.

It exposed the beams and plasterboard and large amounts of ceiling insulation dropped onto the room below, which was being used as a bedroom for Siddique, her husband and their young baby.

The tenants said the ceiling collapse was upsetting for the family, especially when their young baby could have been asleep in the room at the time and hurt by falling debris.

The builder who did the repairs said the ceiling had collapsed due to saturated ceiling insulation.

The family had to travel overseas the following day for four weeks. While they were away, the repair works were completed, the property was cleaned and their linen dry-cleaned and replaced on the bed.

The property manager and owner Zhu Fengian both visited to inspect the property and check on progress.

When the family returned, they were disappointed with the cleaning. Siddique took photos showing some dust from the building work, water marks from where the TV had been wiped down, and faint stains on the duvet cover.

The property manager offered to send another cleaner and were happy to compensate for the duvet cover.

But Siddique said she wanted the landlord to go to K-mart to buy the exact duvet cover, which she said was inexpensive.

The tribunal said these were “very minor matters” that the tenant could have easily attended to herself.

There was a further leak from a small hole in the ceiling in September 2022, which was repaired within two weeks. There were no further leaks until the tenancy ended in November that year.

The property manager agreed the ceiling collapse was unfortunate and sympathised with the tenants, but said they had done everything they could to investigate, make prompt repairs, and return the property to a clean and tidy state.

The tribunal agreed. “It is difficult to imagine how they could have done more given the circumstances,” its decision said.

Nevertheless, it said the family had to cope with the stress of four leaks in the space of four months, attendance by tradespeople and cleaners, and had to live with a hole in the ceiling for a short period of time.

The landlord had already refunded one week’s rent, so the tribunal ordered a second week’s rent to be paid as compensation for the loss of amenity caused by the leaks and need for repairs.

The tenant was ordered to pay $257 for the removal of rubbish they left behind, $345 for a broken window, $345 for an overgrown part of the garden, and $78 for mistakenly removed smoke alarms.